What Does It Take To Succeed As A Mobile Developer?
About Me
- No formal CS education
- 10+ apps
- Indie iOS Focus Weekly
- iosstack.com
- Freelance
What Have I Learned?
- Coding is just part of a successful app
- It's crazy hard to get noticed
- No fast money in mobile
- Experiment
I have an idea!
Let's build it!
But Should You
Build It?
Hobby
Learning
Portfolio
Income
"If You Just Want
To Build Apps,
Get a Job"
Research:
Should Build It?
- Niche apps
- App research
- What does the market say
Apple's Tips
- Useful or lasting entertainment
- Improve on current apps
- Clean, refined, user friendly UI
- Quality
App Store Research
MetaTax
from Charles Perry
A tax research app for small
businesses
- Low competition
- Lots of content
- Premium product ($99/year)
Podcast: Release Notes
Overcast
from Marco Arment
A simple yet powerful podcast player
- Tons of competition
- Killer feature
- Instapaper reputation
Podcast: Accidental Tech Podcast
Market Research
=
Yes!
Now What?
Monetization Strategies
- Paid app
- In app purchase (IAP)
- Ads
- Credits
- Subscriptions
- Patronage
How Can Your App
Get Noticed?
- Reputation
- Unique story
- Learn to write good copy
- Influential partner
Coding
finally...
Design
App Submission
more marketing
Driving Downloads
- Store features
- Cross promotion
- Advertising
- Different platforms
- Iterate & improve
The Importance
of Reviews
- Best practices
- Funneling unhappy customers
- No review communities!
Post Launch
now what?
So What Is Success?
It Depends...
Quit That!
from Chris Beshore
An app to help you quit your bad habits
- Built in a few days
- Super simple
- No annoying ads or limitations
- Patronage model
- 54,000 downloads
- 18 months = $667
- Is it successful?
The Big Picture
- If you just want to build apps, get a job
- Multiple streams of income
- You need a plan
- App success? Depends on what you are looking for
Thank You!
Twitter: @cdbeshore
Email: cdbeshore@cozyapps.com
indieiosfocus.com
Mobile Success
By Chris Beshore
Mobile Success
What is success on the App Store. That depends on what you are trying to achieve.
- 972